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During last year's E3, BioWare unveiled its next colossal project: Anthem, a sci-fi shooter that looked to rival Activision's Destiny 2. But a week ago, sources toldKotaku that the game, originally slated to arrive in 2018, would be pushed back a year due after its development fell behind schedule. Electronic Arts denied that reason but confirmed that, yes, Anthem won't come out until early 2019.

At Gamescom last week, EA showed off a timeline of future expansions headed to Battlefield 1, including the next to come, In The Name of the Tsar. The game's second DLC just got a global release date on September 19th, but players who bought the Premium Pass can load it up two weeks early on September 5th. Even if you don't care about the extra content, tech heads might want to buy it for another added feature: HDR10 support.

When I spoke to Electronic Arts Executive Vice President Patrick Soderlund last week, Kotaku's report about why Mass Effect: Andromeda turned out so poorly hadn't been published yet. Nonetheless, when I asked him about the flawed game's development cycle, he was incredibly candid -- just as he had been in 2013 when I'd interviewed him about his company's move from myriad game-design toolkits to just two. Here are his thoughts on several key topics.

As you'd expect from a unit with such an intimidating name, these soldiers were pretty badass, taking over 200 prisoners as they fought valiantly on the Western Front. The new multiplayer class these real world soldiers have inspired is called the Russian Scout -- and that's all that we know so far. EA has said it will reveal more information about the Russian Scout at E3, alongside the new maps that fan can expect from the upcoming expansion.

The pinnacle of the Battlefield series is at long last backward compatible on Xbox One. Of course, I'm talking about Battlefield Bad Company 2, which came out way back in 2010. There have been four games in the franchise since (Battlefield 3, 4, Hardline and last year's Battlefield 1), but the developers at DICE still haven't gone back to the Bad Company well.

The Battlefield games aren't exactly known for having the best single-player modes. In fact, players ignore the series' solo experiences so routinely that this was actually a reason we didn't see a campaign mode in Star Wars: Battlefront last year. "Very few people actually play the single-player on these kinds of games," EA's Peter Moore said at the time. "That's what the data points to." So, naturally, when I picked up a copy of Battlefield 1 earlier this week, I planned to skip directly to online multiplayer -- but the game didn't let me. First, it had to teach me a history lesson. "Battlefield 1 is based upon events that unfolded over one hundred years ago," the game told me immediately after booting up. "What follows is front line combat. You are not expected to survive."

PC gamers have long had tools to make professional-looking movies. Console players, however, haven't had much luck... it's usually either raw gameplay or nothing. DICE and EA want to give living room directors their shot, though. They're implementing an enhanced spectator mode in Battlefield 1 that's tailor-made for cinematic productions on not just PCs, but also the PS4 and the Xbox One. You now have extensive control over the camera, and it's not just about choosing what to look at or how the camera follows a given unit. You can play with the field of view, depth of field and even an array of visual filters that include Noir and Battlefield 3's signature bluish tones.

Battlefield 1 is shaping up to be a return to form for DICE, the EA-owned development studio behind the famous first-person-shooter series. After handing the franchise keys to Visceral Games for Battlefield Hardline, the studio is back at the helm, and returning to historical warfare with its first game set in World War I. The announcement was met with mostly positive reactions, especially in the face of Activision's continued focus on jetpacks and other future tech with the Call of Duty series.

I'm not a massive fan of either of the big FPS franchises. I don't look down on Call of Duty or Battlefield games: They're expertly crafted multiplayer experiences that millions of gamers love. They're just not for everyone. My colleague Timothy Seppala, a long-time Battlefield fan, spent most of E3 explaining to me just how impressed he was with what he'd seen so far. "I haven't loved a Battlefield game since 2010's Bad Company 2," he wrote back in June, "but during a single round of Conquest set on a map in northern France, I caught a glimpse of the game that had me smitten five years ago."

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avbattlefieldbattlefield1diceeaeadicegamescomgamescom2016gamingvideoFri, 19 Aug 2016 14:30:00 -040021|21455093https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/15/battlefield-1-open-beta-starts-august-31st/https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/15/battlefield-1-open-beta-starts-august-31st/https://www.engadget.com/2016/08/15/battlefield-1-open-beta-starts-august-31st/#comments
Eager to play Battlefield 1 but can't wait until the game's October 21st release date? Well, good news. Electronic Arts has announced that a 64-player open beta for the first-person shooter will begin August 31st on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

The Battlefield TV series is inching closer to fruition. Electronic Arts recently revealed that Michael Sugar, one of the producers behind last year's Oscar-winner for Best Picture, Spotlight, will be working on the show. Along with production house Anonymous Content's Ashley Zalta, Sugar will serve as executive producer. It's also the first time Anonymous and Paramount TV have worked on a video game property. Previous projects include The Revenant, both seasons of True Detective and Mr. Robot. Suffice to say, there's a lot of talent with the team that's been announced so far.

As much as we'd all love surround sound in every room where we have a TV, it isn't always feasible. Be it budgetary reasons or living in an apartment with roommates who don't share your enthusiasm for late-night explosions, sometimes 5.1- or 7.1-channel audio is out of reach. Luckily, there are plenty of headphones to pick from. But that too comes with its own set of conundrums: Where does one even begin in that sea of choices?

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astroastroa30astroa40avbattlefieldbattlefield1bluelolagadgetrygadgetsgaminggearinsidemicrosoftplaystationplaystation4playstationgoldwirelessheadsetps4reviewsonyuk-reviewsuncharted4xboxxboxoneSun, 17 Jul 2016 12:30:00 -040021|21430205https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/11/battlefield-tv-series/https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/11/battlefield-tv-series/https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/11/battlefield-tv-series/#comments
The popularBattlefieldvideo game series from Electronic Arts and DICE is currently being optioned as a television series by Paramount and Anonymous Content.

Today, video game juggernaut Electronic Arts kicked off this year's Electronics Entertainment Expo with a show all its own. If you weren't a member of the press or one of the lucky few fans that were let into the event to experience it firsthand, don't worry: We've collected all the trailers that made their debut on The Novo theater's stage and put them in one handy spot for you. Want a look at the new multiplayer trailer for October's Titanfall 2? Look no further. How about FIFA 17's intriguing single-player story mode? We've got your back there as well, with a few other bits like a new glimpse at Battlefield 1's World War I action. Join us below, won't you?

Video games play fast and loose with realism by definition, but authenticity still matters to some degree After all, it's hard to enjoy a history-focused game if there are obvious factual errors. So how does Battlefield 1 stack up, then? So far so good, if you ask the World War I history buffs at The Great War. They've conducted a shot-by-shot breakdown of the cinematic trailer and revealed that EA DICE is largely faithful to the technology of the conflict -- including in ways you wouldn't expect. That shovel-wielding German soldier you see above makes sense, for example, as the infantry learned that bayonets got stuck in victims. Early tanks behave as they should, and things like gas masks or pickaxes (for Italian soldiers scaling mountains) are true to form.

Battlefield is a tentpole AAA gaming franchise that has made its name by thrusting players into some of the world's most brutal and deadly combat zones. So while it was a little surprising to learn that Battlefield 1 would be set in World War I (few historical combat games have tackled this particular conflict), it's still in keeping with the series' history. In a more general sense, plenty of movies, games and books use war as a backdrop for storytelling, and plenty of those stories are quite violent.

So why did the violence on display in Battlefield 1's trailer bother me so much?

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avbattlefieldbattlefield1cultureeditorialgamingviolencewwiMon, 09 May 2016 15:05:00 -040021|21373871https://www.engadget.com/2016/05/06/battlefield-1-WWI-october-21-release/https://www.engadget.com/2016/05/06/battlefield-1-WWI-october-21-release/https://www.engadget.com/2016/05/06/battlefield-1-WWI-october-21-release/#comments
EA and developer Dice today revealed the next major entry in the venerable warfare series Battlefield. Just as the rumor mill believed, the game will be set in World War I -- and the new game, appropriately, is titled Battlefield 1. "We chose the name because we're going back to the true dawn of all out warfare," lead game designer Daniel Berlin said at a private event near San Francisco for press and fans, "and this is the genesis of what modern warfare is today." The game will be out on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC starting on October 21st, and an open beta will take place later this year.
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avbattlefieldbattlefield 1gamingpersonal computingpersonalcomputingwwixboxoneFri, 06 May 2016 16:21:00 -040021|21371792https://www.engadget.com/2016/05/06/battlefield-live-world-premiere-new-game/https://www.engadget.com/2016/05/06/battlefield-live-world-premiere-new-game/https://www.engadget.com/2016/05/06/battlefield-live-world-premiere-new-game/#comments

EA and DICE are ready to show the world the next Battlefield game, and today's the day. Watch the live reveal right here starting at 4PM EDT / 1PM PDT. Little is known about the setting or timeframe of the new game, though rumors abound. Get the confirmation for yourself in the livestream embedded below.

Update: The new game is called Battlefield 1 and it takes place during the first World War. Read our story about the setting, release date and platforms right here. Re-watch the reveal starting at 6:10:33 in the following video.

You've probably seen some clever gaming Easter eggs in your day, but few of them are likely to be this... involved. Gamers playing Battlefield 4's new Dragon Valley map have discovered an Easter egg that requires a massive, multi-step sleuthing campaign to complete. How massive? Well, it starts with translating Belarusian Morse code and moves on to hidden objects, logic puzzles and audio editing. The kicker is that this isn't repeatable -- even if you pay close attention to the video below, you'll have to do some of the hard work yourself.

Electronic Arts, the studio responsible for Star Wars: Battlefront, SimCity and the Battlefield franchise, has launched a new Competitive Gaming Division led by former COO and EA Sports President Peter Moore. The goal of the new business is to cultivate eSports opportunities within EA's library, most notably in the Battlefield, Madden NFL and FIFA franchises. EA's CGD will develop live events and broadcasting featuring eSports, plus create new, officially branded competitive experiences, CEO Andrew Wilson says in a blog post.

EA showed 12 minutes of Battlefield: Hardline's single player campaign at its Gamescom 2014 presentation, but you can watch the same demonstration in the above video. EA's snippet follows protagonist Nick Mendoza as he hunts down someone from his past, a motivation that aligns with story details we heard previously from San-Diego Comic Con.

Since Hardline stars a cop, players don't have to default to shredding enemies and environments to bits with bullets and explosions: in the demo, Mendoza subdues threats with a taser and a "Freeze" mechanic, brandishing his badge and conducting proper arrests to eliminate the threat posed by some criminals.

The hit mobile MMO Order and Chaos Online has gone from reducing its up-front client cost to eliminating it completely.

This past week, Gameloft dropped the price for Order and Chaos Online, making it officially free-to-play and gifting existing players 150 rune stones and a shining golden dragon hatchling for their financial support. The game originally launched as a subscription model, transitioned into a buy-to-play title for $6.99 back in 2012, and now will have to lean on in-game shop purchases to rake in revenue.

Order and Chaos Online is celebrating its third anniversary with in-game gifts and quests. The MMO recently added a new PvP mode, Battlefield, that allows players to duke it out in 2v2 and 4v4 matches.

We can't uphold or defy the law in Battlefield: Hardlineuntil 2015, but thanks to San Diego Comic-Con, we can get a sense of what will unfold in its single-player content right now. According to Polygon's report, Hardline's story follows a pair of straight-shooting cops as they're set up by another group. As a result of being framed, they land in prison, faced with fighting their way out before settling the score with the people who put them there.

Polygon notes a video shown to panel attendees depicted urban environments, as well as a scene following Hardline's lead cops as they storm a cocaine warehouse in a desert-like area. A crime lord named Roark owns the facility, and given his profession and choice of locale, we can't imagine he's receptive of any stop-ins from local law enforcement.

Eugene Byrd (Bones), Kelly Hu (Arrow) and Benito Martinez (The Shield) will have significant roles in Hardline's story, with Mark Rolston (The Departed) playing Roark. Wendy Calhoun, co-producer of Justified, is serving as a narrative consultant, with The West Wing editor Bill Johnson working as Hardline's performance director.

Every year we get another Call of Duty, but if you've given up hope waiting for a new Left 4 Dead, a Georgia-based company might have something a bit well, realer, to help tide you over. Blood, Guts 'n Glory[sic] is looking to take the aforementioned games off of your TV and put them in the real world with the help of slick Hollywood-style production and some high-tech weaponry this October. In Apocalyptic Infested Horror, teams battle against hordes of zombies played by actors or Kickstarter backers, while War-torn Fallujah Battlefield has you facing off against "insurgents." In terms of firepower, real weapons like the M4 assault rifle have been outfitted with infrared tech along the lines of what the military uses for training purposes, and the armaments apparently still sound like the real deal, have muzzle flash and require reloading. Authenticity above all, naturally. And thanks to a force feedback belt, you'll feel each attack you've sustained too.

Alongside legions of actual cheaters, EA's third-party anti-cheating technology, Punkbuster, has apparently been booting innocents from Battlefield 3, a problem the publisher is currently looking into.

"We are investigating an issue of Punkbuster bans that were incorrectly applied to some of our players," reads a statement on EA's official help site. "Please undertstand [sic] that our game advisors are not able to access or overturn Punkbuster bans, but we're working with our partners at Even Balance to get this resolved as quickly as possible."

Even Balance is the developer of Punkbuster, a once-popular anti-cheating program that saw widespread use prior to the advent of Steam and Valve's Anti-Cheat (VAC) software. Since that time, many newer games (including EA's own Titanfall) have opted to use Valve's solution over the comparatively dated Punkbuster. Unfortunately, older games, such as Battlefield 3, remain tied to Punkbuster and its banning protocol which makes it very difficult for even the game's publisher to rescind punishment once a ban has been issued.